Royal Desolation - Puppet Dance - CD

ROYAL DESOLATION hailing from Luzern in Switzerland made their first international appearance in 2019 with their EP
"Lost". The EP showed the band firmly rooted in a fiery metalcore style. However two years of working on the band's debut
album was well spent and developed the band's sound and musical identity significantly.Their first full-length album "Puppet
Dance" will be released on Karl Walterbach's (Ex-Noise Records) Sonic Attack label, a susidiary of his Management
Company, giving young talented bands a forum.
The release of "Puppet Dance" was originally planned for 2020, but the Corona crisis slowed down things down and it was
decided to release a string of singles first: "We Will Not Fall", "Born In Ashes" and "Army Of Desolation" came out between
spring of 2020 and October 2021. In the meantime, ROYAL DESOLATION and their producer Toni Watzinger, started fine-
tuning the album songs and experimenting with sounds, which eventually led to a complete reworking of the already
existing pre-production and two resulting line-up changes.
"Puppet Dance" contains 12 songs that move between metalcore and modern metal with catchy choruses. Powerful riffing,
a grooving rhythm section and the punctual use of 80s synth sounds form a mixture of hardness and melody that goes
straight to the brain. The growling and shouting of frontman Raphael Schenk - who counts Corey Taylor and Mitch Lucker
(R.I.P.) of Suicide Silence among his idols and also writes most of the lyrics - leads, complemented by the clean vocals of
rhythm guitarist Nathan Zkinwalker, to catchy choruses that invite you to sing along.
For Rapahel, his lyrics are not only a means of conveying (often negative) feelings, they are also his therapy for coping with
his recurring depressions and being strong, as is evident in the tracks "Dead Inside" or "We Will Not Fall," for example.
"Memories Of Pain", - an intense ballad that features Grace Willis from the band Stay Illusion as a guest vocalist - has a
special meaning, especially for Parkway Drive's most musically zealous lead guitarist Taylor McGarrett. In this song, Taylor
works through his difficult childhood, in which his guitar became his support and music his lifeblood.
Groovemonsters like "Runaway", the touching "Memories Of Pain" or the catchy title track "Puppet Dance", which will be
released as a single on 8.4., show the many facets of ROYAL DESOLATION. But one thing always remains constant: Powerful
grooves and great melodies - a mixture that draws people in front of the stage, especially live.